By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – A key commander of a militant group fighting for separation of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province surrendered before the security forces on Wednesday.

Addressing a news conference in the provincial capital Quetta, Safaraz Bnagulzai renounced militancy along with his 72 associates, who were not present at the event.

Bangulzai was appointed as the commander of the Balochistan Nationalist Army (BNA), following the surrender of his predecessor Gulzar Imam Shambay in April this year.

The outlawed group, a conglomerate of two separatist groups Balochistan Republican Army and the United Baloch Army, has been involved in numerous attacks on security forces in the mineral-rich province in recent years.

A former employee of the health department, Bangulzai joined militancy in 2009.

“I was misguided by some people to join militancy. But now, I have realized that this path does not lead to either liberation or well-being of Balochistan,” he said.

“Therefore, I have decided to quit violence and join the peace process,” he added.

Bangulzai accused Islamabad’s longtime rival India of supporting militancy in Balochistan.

Mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but poorest province. Security forces have long been facing a low-intensity rebellion by Baloch separatists, who claim the province had been “forcibly” incorporated into Pakistan, following the end of British colonial rule in United India in 1947.

Dozens of soldiers and suspected militants were killed in clashes and ambushes across the province this year.

The province is also a key route of the $64 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, which aims to connect China's strategically important northwestern Xinxiang province to Balochistan’s Gawadar port through a network of roads, railways, and pipelines for cargo, oil, and gas transportation.

With its 600-kilometer (373-mile) coastline, Gwadar is an important deep seaport currently operated by China, which aims to attain direct access to the Indian Ocean via the seaport.